Employee explains why the job postings in the U.S. are offering lower pay than ever

The job market continues to become more complex every passing day. We get to hear horrific stories from job-seekers about their poor prospects in the job market. Most job postings make unrealistic demands without offering proper compensation. People are forced to join these jobs out of necessity and end up being unhappy. Reddit user u/gjones9038 shared a post titled "The reason for insane job posting with really low pay in the U.S." It has gained an impressive 2.2K upvotes on the platform with nearly 280 comments. They start the post by detailing how most people think that "H.R. is out of touch" when they see unrealistic jobs, but there is a reason for it.

The employee states they have worked in the staffing industry for over 20 years. They talk about how they started as a recruiter after the tech hype died down in the early 2000s. Initially, they could not find any jobs in the I.T. sector, but with time, they landed a good job at a business intelligence report engineering company. They talk about how a company can only hire an H1B employee if they can prove that no other citizens within the country could do the same job. Therefore, they must bring in someone from outside to fill the position. They write, "So by posting the job for a set period of time and then showing that they can't find anyone, they are then able to hire an H1B employee."

The H1B employees who accept such offerings do so because they have no alternatives. Once an H1B employee joins an organization, they are sadly forced to work there until another company is willing to sponsor their Visa along with other fees. Unfortunately, their woes do not end here. H1B employees seek out jobs in the U.S. through H1B agencies, who tempt them with high-paying jobs but end up working for low wages if they want to stay within the country.

What we see here is a vicious cycle where H1B agencies get an endless workforce who are paid very poorly and are at their mercy. They also deliberately keep the wages low to simulate the market rates. The individual concludes the post, saying, "So next time you see one of those job postings we all think are insane, just realize that there's a far more evil reason for its existence."

People who read the post shared their own thoughts in the comments section. u/prpslydistracted commented, "This adds far more insight to the standard, 'No one wants to work anymore.' Rather, the labor market is not willing to work for the same wages as someone on a work visa from the other side of the world. Living in the most prosperous country in the world but competing with those from third world countries, not their peers. Sort of; corporate is literally holding H1B employees hostage? Thank you for this. I can't be the only one unaware of the job market manipulation.

Another user, hjablowme919, said, "Just to be clear for people not aware, H1B is not new. It's over 30 years old." User u/thetinybasher shared the reality of the situation, "I once told an American about this (I’m South African) and he told me I was lying and America would 'never do that.' My brother went through this exact process so I can tell you it’s real. He has a green card now so he thinks it was all worth it. (I’m not sure I agree.)"